Oakland Schools Consultant Guides Ultimate Resource Project

FOUR YEARS AGO, Amy Bloom, a History/Social Studies Consultant for Oakland Schools, realized there was a massive gap in Michigan’s move to tie Social Studies coursework to the new State Standards. The essential, missing link? Classroom Curriculum!

The Michigan Department of Education provided clear Content Expectations for Social Studies and History, so Amy simply stepped up to the enormous job of leading the Michigan Citizenship Collaborative Curriculum (MC3) project to find, create and align the content that Kindergarten-to-Grade 11 teachers would find appropriate and useful.

“It takes two people on my team 20 to 40 hours to create ONE lesson,” Amy said. “The lesson is then edited, taken before a committee and reviewed by a university. We ensure that teachers are getting information based on the most recent scholarship, with lessons that support State Standards and Common Core Literacy Standards.”

“Individual teachers just do not have the time to create curriculum based on this kind of depth,” Amy added. “We encourage Social Studies and History teachers to personalize our material – to take it and make it their own. The entire curriculum is online on the Oakland Schools website, and it’s FREE to download and use!”

(Click on ‘Social Studies’ under ‘Subject’ in the drop-down menu box, then “Browse)

What’s the MC3 difference? It’s a teacher’s ultimate ‘dream resource': the educative curriculum offers built-in, seamless learning progression; it is self-referential; and, it clearly explains what to do, how to do it, and why.

Nationally and internationally, teachers have that found that MC3 provides an exceptionally comprehensive Social Studies foundation. Jeff Wilusz, a teacher in Kuwait, wrote: “It is, hands down, the best information and curriculum that I have ever seen available for educators. The amount of time and effort that was put into it is astounding…though tailored for a Michigan classroom, you created a system that is adaptable to anyplace, even Kuwait!”

On November 3, 2012, Amy Bloom, JD, was presented with a special Meritorious Service Award for her academic vision, leadership and ground-breaking work on the MC3 at the 2012 Michigan Joint Social Studies Conference. Bob Bain, Associate Professor of History at the University of Michigan, presented Ms. Bloom with the award on behalf of the Michigan Council of History Education.

“Amy has been a consistent force for quality education in Michigan,” said Dr. Bain. “In my 40 years in education, she is among the very best people with whom I’ve worked…while others seemed to focus on the new Standards or Content Expectations, Amy focused on the need for new curriculum, professional development and assessment aligned to the Content Expectations.

In other words, Amy centered her work on the resources that teachers actually need and will use to teach students.”

Although honored by her award, Ms. Bloom was quick to stress the team involvement leading to MC3 realization.

“The Michigan Citizenship Collaborative Curriculum has been a GROUP effort,” she said. “We’ve been working on this enormous project since 2008, and I could not have done it alone. We learned how to create cohesive materials as a team. Now that the project is finishing up, we are starting down the road to continuous improvement!”

Primary Academic Partners: University of Michigan-Eisenberg Institute for Historical Studies, School of Education History Education Projects, International Institute;Wayne State University-History Department, Center for the Study of Citizenship; Walsh College Center for Economic Education; Kheel Center, Cornell University; Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project, American University Washington College of Law